To be honest it's been a grim few months. Things are looking much better now though so keep reading!
The week before Christmas I took Bentley to the vet as he had a cough and was very tired. He also coughed up some blood. Major panic. The vet told me gently that dog's don't really get coughs. I told her he hadn't had a fit for six months and she looked at me with pity in her eyes and told me it's the body's way of compensating. Expect the worst. We were devastated.
Of course we couldn't get an x-ray or ct scan booked until after Christmas so that was all a bit tense.
In between Christmas and New Year we took him up to Somerset for a scan. On a hunch the vet there tested him for lungworm and it was positive. I reported the findings to my vet who told me that she didn't recognise it as she's only seen two cases of it in 30 years. It's almost unheard of down here and he had been extremely unlucky. He is a grass eater though so that's probably how he got it.
We treated the lungworm and Bentley made a slow but steady recovery. He has got his energy back. I'd like to say he got his appetite back but he never lost it.
Now we are back to training for an online heelwork to music competition. He is back to going in the sea almost daily and is his normal loveable, goofy self. Of course now that he is nine he has slowed down a bit and since his illness I have decided to drive him to our walk locations and back as the hill is too much for him( and me).
On the epilepsy front, we were dreading him having a fit while he was ill and his system was weakened. Anyway. He had his first fit for months just last week and it could have been a whole lot worse. I'm glad we got that over with as I was expecting it to be a humdinger but it really wasn't but it sent him doolally for a couple of days. Here he is chilling out on the balcony.
Anyway, we are coming up north next week for a few days to visit the family we haven't seen for eighteen months. A few days walking in the woods and moors will sort that pristine white coat out. He hasn't been swamp monster for ages.
